Playing card distribution apparatus

ABSTRACT

The disclosure is of an apparatus for enabling distribution of playing cards into predetermined groups, or &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;hands&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;, for the game of Duplicate Bridge. The determination of distribution of the playing cards into four hands or sets of equal number is made by use of a punched code card having punches or holes for indicating the distribution of each card of a deck of playing cards, each playing card having printed on its back side a code corresponding to holes of the code card whereby matching superimposed holes of the code card and the printed code of each playing card indicates the hand in which that playing card should be placed.

United States Patent Boren 1 Apr. 25, W72

[54] PLAYING CARD DISTRIBUTION APPARATUS [72] Inventor: William M.Boren, 12614 Kimberly,

Houston, Tex. 77034 [22] Filed; June 29, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 50,786

Related U.S. Application Data [63] Continuation-impart of Ser. No.30,314, Apr. 20, 1970, abandoned, which is a continuation of Ser. No.734,429,]une4, 1968 abandoned,

[52] 11.5. C1. ..273/149 P, 273/148 A, 273/152.2 [5l] Int. Cl. ..A63fl/l4 {58] Field ofSearch ..273/148 A, 149A [56] References Cited UNITEDSTATES PATENTS Michell ..273/148AT Hoke ..273/149 P 3,165,319 1/1965Benirna ..273/149 P Primary Examiner-Anton O. Oechsle Attorney-Carl B.Fox, Jr.

[57] ABSTRACT The disclosure is of an apparatus for enablingdistribution of playing cards into predetermined groups, or hands, forthe game of Duplicate Bridge. The determination of distributionof theplaying cards into four hands or sets of equal number is made by use ofa punched code card having punches or holes for indicating thedistribution of each card of a deck of playing cards, each playing cardhaving printed on its back side a code corresponding to holes of thecode card whereby matching superimposed holes of the code card and theprinted code of each playing card indicates the hand in which thatplaying card should be placed.

2 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures PMENTF-HPR 25 972 SHEEI 3 OF 3 IN VEN TORCROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is acontinuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 30,314, filed Apr. 20,1970, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 734,429, filedJune 4, 1968, both said applications now being abandoned.

The disclosure of this application utilizes certain of the principlesset forth in applicants applications Ser. No. 472,270, filed July 15,1965, and Ser. No. 681,667, filed Nov. 9, 1967, both now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The game of Contract Bridge is well-knowntoday and is played by a great number of people in the form of rubberBridge. In rubber Bridge, the cards are shuffled and dealt to each ofthe participants whereupon they then bid for the contract and play thehand accordingly. The scoring then takes place as the points fromindividual played hands or deals make up game scores'which, in turn,contribute toward the rubber score and the final tally. While the gamedoes require a great amount of skill and imagination to win constantly,luck can be a large factor. That is, when the better cards should fallmajorally to one of the partnerships they will have an opportunity toscore highly whether they are skilled bridge players or not.

Duplicate Bridge to a large extent corrects for the luck factor which ispresent in "rubber" Bridge. This is the form of Bridge which is playedin nearly all Bridge tournaments and provides a contest wherein theskill or competing partners is accurately indicated by the score. Ineffect, all participating partners are made to play the same identicalhands which their competitors play and the point gain, the measure ofskill, can then be made by comparing scores of both the playing and thedefending partners with the similar results achieved by other foursomes.The Bridge hands after being bid and played by one foursome are kept inthe same order, by not intermixing the cards as they are played as inrubber Bridge, and passed to the next foursome for bidding and play.This procedure is repeated until all the hands have been played by eachof the contestant foursomes. The scoring can then be made on the basisof what a foursome, both the playing and defending partners, did on aparticular dealt hand relative to the results of all other Competingfoursomes.

It is apparent that Duplicate Bridge requires a large number offoursomes in order to produce the multitude of scores required forcomparison of results on the various hands. Such multiple-table Bridgerequires a large number of decks of cards, one for each deal to beplayed, and a large number of containers (called "boards") in which theindividual hands of each deal are transmitted from table to table.

There are several types of Duplicate Bridge games which attempt toenable Duplicate Bridge play in the home or other casual gamesite. Thesegames consist of certain books or listings which disclose particularDuplicate Bridge deals along with pertinent comparison and scoringmaterial. In each of these prior known game assemblies a problem arisesas to the manner and mode of distributing the predetermined bridge dealsto the contestants. One solution has been to distribute a separate deckof cards to each participant at the table so that he may select his handfor each deal as it would be listed in his accompanying guide book.Another method uses card decks with printed numbers on the decorativeside of the cards which designate the proper card distribution as per aparticular deal or Bridge hand, the deck of cards having its usefulnesslimited to the number of deals that can be represented in the givenspace, usually 24 to 48 deals. Such modes of pre-determined dealdistribution rely on judgement of the person or persons assembling thehand, tending to introduce errors which render the deals unplayable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention contemplates carddistribution which allows accurate distribution of playing cards intopredeter- 5 mined bridge hands from a total number of such cards, by

means of punched code cards which enable the apparatus to automaticallysignal the hand to which each playing card belongs for the particulardeal involved. The invention further contemplates the use with a bookwhich accompanies the card distribution apparatus and which containsDuplicate Bridge tournament results and scoring for a multiplicity ofBridge hands or deals, each of which is identifiable to a particularpunched code card.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a game apparatuswhich enables Duplicate Bridge play by a single foursome in the home.

It is further an object of the present invention to enable the play ofDuplicate Bridge by a single foursome with match point scoring andthereafter to enable comparison of results with actual tournamentresults as very high standards.

It is still further an object of the present invention to enable playingcard distribution in accordance with a single punched code card which isidentifiable to a particular Bridge detail.

Finally, it is an object of the invention to provide an apparatus whichenables the operator to distribute playing cards as they are dealt froma deck into predetermined hands of Bridge by visual signals produced asthe printed code of the playing card currently atop the deck matches theholes in a punched code card superimposed above that playing card, suchsignals relating to the predetermined hands.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be evident from thefollowing detailed description when read in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings which illustrate the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an illustrative plan viewindicating the complete array of available code mark positions placed indiverse combinations on the decorative sides of the individual playingcards of a deck of playing cards.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the decorative side of a preferred form ofplaying card, illustrating the combination of code markings indicatingthe denomination of this playing card.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the decorative side of a second specificplaying card, illustrating the code markings of this playing card.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the decorative side of a third specific playingcard with a preferred form of punched code card superimposed upon thelower half of the playing card.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the playing card of FIG. 2 with the code cardof FIG. 4 superimposed upon the lower half of the playing card.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the playing card of FIG. 3 with the code cardof FIGS. 4 and 5 superimposed upon the lower half of the playing card.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a preferred form of apparatus accordingto the invention.

FIG. 8 is similar to FIG. 7, showing certain parts in moved positions.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged partial perspective'view of one end of theapparatus shown in FIGS. 7-8, showing the apparatus in use.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings indetail, FIG. 1 illustrates the field of 312 potential code markpositions 1 applicable to the decorative side of each playing card of adeck. These 312 potential positions 1 fall in six groups 2, 3, 4, 5, 6and 7, indicated by dashed lines, each group having 52 positions. Withineach group, each of the 52 positions therein is allotted to a certaincard of the deck, and the positions are symmetrical so that when thecard is rotated lreversing the ends of the card but not turning the cardover, the code positions are relatively the same. The relative locationsof a specific playing card's position may vary from group to groupwithin the field. For example, the Eight of Spades is represented byposition 8 in group 5, by position 9 in group 6, and by position 10 ingroup 7', in symmetrical arrangement, the Eight of Spades is representedby position 11 in group 2, position 12 in group 3 and position 13 ingroup 4.

Likewise, the Two of Hearts is represented by positions 14, 15 and 16and, symmetrically, positions 17, 18 and 19.

The Jack of Diamonds is represented by positions 20, 21 and 22, and,symmetrically, positions 23, 24 and 25.

Similarly, every other playing card of the deck is represented by aposition in each group.

The code mark positions in groups 4 and 5 are assigned to the Westplayer; those in groups 3 and 6 are assigned to the North player, andthose in groups 2 and 7 are assigned to the East player.

In FIG. 2 the decorative side of a playing card 26 is shown. The card isthe Eight of Spades, and its code marks 27 through 32 match the Eight ofSpades+ positions 8 through 13, respectively, in FIG. 1.

In FIG. 3 the decorative side of playing card 33, the Two of Hearts, isshown. Its code marks 34 through 39 match the Two of Hearts positions 14through 19, respectively, in FIG. 1.

Likewise, each other playing card of the deck has six code marks in alocation pattern exclusive to the denomination of that card.

In FIG. 4 a punched code card 40, containing 39 punches 41, is shownsuperimposed over the lower half of playing card 42. Playing card 42 isthe Jack of Diamonds, its visible code marks 43, 44 and 45 matching theJack of Diamonds positions 23, 24 and 25in FIG. 1.

The 39 punches 41 of code card 40 are located such that if code card 40were superimposed over the field of potential playing card code markpositions of FIG. 1, in the same relative position as shown with playingcard 42 in FIG. 4, the locations of punches 41 would coincide with 39code mark positions in the field of FIG. 1. Thus, each punch 41corresponds to a particular card of the deck.

The 39 punches 41 of code card 40 are in three groups 46, 47 and 48,bounded by printed lines 49. Within each group 46, 47, and 48, there arel3 punches; therefore, 13 cards of the deck are represented in eachgroup ofpunches.

The punches in code card 40 of FIG. 4 represent three hands" of aparticular deal" of Bridge. Each group 46, 47 and 48 contains thirteenpunches, representing the West, North and East players hands,respectively, as shown by the symbols 50. Each card of the deck would berepresented in one of the groups 46,47 or 48, or in none of the groups.If not represented in any of groups, corresponding to the West, Northand East hands, then the card would by process of elimination belong tothe fourth hand, South.

In FIG. 4, none of the code marks of playing card 42, the .lack ofDiamonds, coincide with a punch 41 in code card 40. Therefore, since nocode mark is visible through a punch in the West, North or East groups,the Jack of Diamonds belongs to South in the deal represented by codecard 40.

In FIG. 5, code card 40 of FIG. 4 is shown superimposed upon playingcard 26 of FIG. 2, the Eight of Spades. Punch 51 in North group 52coincides with code mark 28 of FIG. 2, code mark 28 being readilyvisible through punch 51. This visible indication means that playingcard 26, the Eight of Spades, belongs to the North hand in the dealrepresented by code card 40.

In FIG. 6, code card 40 from FIGS. 4 and 5 is shown superimposed uponplaying card 33 of FIG. 3, the Two of Hearts. Punch 53 in East group 54of code card 40 coincides with code mark 36 of FIG. 3. Thus, playingcard 33, the Two of Hearts, belongs to the East hand in the dealrepresented by code card 40.

Similarly, if code card 40 is successively superimposed as in FIGS. 4,5, and 6 upon each playing card in the deck, the

visual signals produced by coincident code marks and punches, or lack ofsuch visual signals, would dictate the complete distribution of theplaying cards into four predetermined hands" as dictated by the punchpattern in code card 40.

Likewise, a different pattern of 39 punches in another code card wouldsignal a different predetermined distribution of playing cardsinimitable to that code card.

It will be understood that the playing cards may be turned in eitherdirection, as the same code marks appear symmetrically at each end ofeach card.

A preferred form of apparatus is shown in FIGS. 7-9. The case 61 is inthe form of a flat box open at its top and at one end to serve as acontainer from which the playing cards are dealt. From rear wall 62,opposite side walls 63, 64 extend forward toward the open card deliveryend of the case. Beneath the deck (or partial deck) of cards 65, thecase has a bottom (not shown) on which the cards are supported. Thebottom extends beyond the forward ends of wall 63, 64, and from itsforward end a wall 67 extends downwardly. A wall 68 (one being shown)extends between each side of wall 67 and the sides of the case bottomforwardly beyond the forward ends of side walls 63, 64. Walls 62-64 and67 are rectangular. Each wall 68 is rectiform at its upper portion andhas an angular lower edge 69 sloping downwardly to the lower end of wall67. Outwardly extending edge flange 71 depends from the edges of wall 67and walls 68.

Side wall 63 is recessed at its outer side at 73. Side wall 64 isidentically recessed at the opposite side of the case. A plurality ofparallel side-by-side ridges 75 are formed down each side wall 63, 64and across the bottom of the case, at the forward portions of the sidewalls, to form a gripping surface and to provide a decorative featurefor the case.

The side walls 63, 64 have recesses 78, 79, respectively, at their innersides adjacent wall 62. The recesses are rectangular and extend the fullheights of the side walls. A vertical slot is disposed downwardly fromjust below the upper edge of each side wall to the bottom, close to backwall 62.

A pivotally movable retainer has a pair of oppositely projecting lugs86, only one being shown, which are slidably disposed in the slots 80,and about which retainer 85 is pivotally movable. Retainer 85 is movableupwardly and downwardly in slots 80. Retainer 85 is moved up forplacement of cards 65 and a code card 40 in the case, and then islowered to rest flushly upon the cards. As cards 65 are removed one byone from the stack, the code card and retainer 85 move downwardly tocontinue to rest upon the cards. Cards 65 have camouflage marks notregisterable with any code card perforation.

Retainer 85 is relieved at its sides at 88, 89 at the unrelieved innerside portions of walls 63, 64. A rectangular opening 91 is providedthrough retainer 85 for observation of the code card 40 therethrough.Each code card 40 has projecting side portions 40a, 40b which arereceived in the recesses 78, 79, whereby the code card is held fixedwith respect to the cards 65 therebeneath.

Retainer 85 has downwardly depending walls 93-95 corresponding inposition and shape to the walls 67, 68, 69, respectively, and whichcover these walls when retainer 85 is fully moved downwardly when nocards are in the case. A pair of opposite projections 97, 98 areprovided for raising retainer 85.

An opening 101 is provided through the upper portion of wall 93 andthrough the adjacent top wall of the retainer. Slots 103, 104 aredisposed at the intersection of the top wall of the retainer and wall93, of sizes to pennit drawing of a single card 65 therethrough from thetop of the stack or deck or such cards. The portions of wall 93 at thesides of opening 101 retain the remaining cards of the deck evenlystacked in the case. When the top card is removed through slots 103,104, retainer 85 moved down so that the next top card may be withdrawn.

With retainer 85 elevated and pivoted upwardly, a deck of cards 65 isplaced in the case. A code card is placed on the top of the deck withprojections 40a, 40b in recesses 78, 79. The retainer is dropped orlowered to rest on the code card and deck of cards. With the apparatusthus prepared, the cards may be dealt one at a time as directed by acode mark observed through a code card punch for each successive card ofthe deck..

It is apparent from FIGS. 7-9 that the apparatus of the invention holdsa deck of coded playing cards in correct position with respect to apunched code card and allows the operator, acting upon the resultingvisual signals produced as previously described, to slide the uppermostplaying card off the deck and pass same to the proper player as dictatedby the visual signal, and the next lower playing card to become likewiseproperly positioned under the said code card for the subsequentdistribution of that card, etc. When all of the playing cards of thedeck have thus been distributed, the four players will have been dealtpredetermined hands" of 13 cards each. The hands punched on the codecard will usually be bands which have been dealt to and played by experttournament players. The distribution of cards being complete, the dealis ready for bidding, playing and scoring by the players, and subsequentcomparison of results with those achieved by the tournament playerspreviously.

The punched code card contains printed information necessary for thebidding, including identification of which player is dealer" and thusbids first, and which partnership is vulnerable. Upon completion ofplay, the participants may turn to a master record of consensus ofresults which pertains to the particular Duplicate Bridge distributionof that code card, identified by the deal number on the code card. It iscontemplated that the consensus results would be printed in anaccompanying booklet, to be consulted only after play of the deal iscompleted. The remarks concerning the deal would include actualtournament results on the deal, and expert comments on the properbidding and play of the hands of the deal.

As in tournament Duplicate Bridge, each of the two partnerships receivesa match point" for every tournament partnership in the same direction(such as East-west or North- South) that it outscores, and a half matchpoint for each such pair it ties. After the evenings (typically 12 to 20deals), the partnership with the highest cumulative match point" totalwins.

Inasmuch as the determination of distribution of the cards isaccomplished by viewing of a code mark in a group (hand) area of thecode card, or lack thereof, the remainder of the back of each card maybe decorated by designs or colors which do not interfere with the codemark viewing through the code card punches. The code marks and punchesare not necessarily of the rectangular shapes shown, and mixed shapescan be employed. For example, code marks in the form of round dots couldbe used, and viewed through punches of any suitable shape to enabletheir viewing.

The foregoing discloses a novel playing card distribution apparatuswhich allows informal gatherings of people to participate in the game ofDuplicate Bridge. The present device enables a game apparatus which willallow any Bridge player to compare his Bridge ability against otherBridge players with the element of luck almost completely eliminatedand, in the preferable form, the accompanying material can afford thetournament results compiled by expert Bridge players in a concensus formso that the participant can derive a direct indication of his ownability as compared to that of experts. It is anticipated that periodicissues of new code cards sets would be offered to owners of theapparatus, such subsequent issues being based on other Bridgetournaments, thus offering a continuing series of authentic andentertaining deals for use with the apparatus.

It should be understood that the invention need not be restricted tothose materials and designs configurations as set forth specificallyherein. The essential points of the invention are in the coding andautomatic signalling procedure and there are many known types ofvariations on the disclosed hardware which may be substituted to provideequivalent structure. Further, it is entirely within the inventor'sintention that the specific designs can be materially altered withoutchanging the function of the apparatus.

Changes may be made in the combination and arrangement of elements asheretofore set forth in this specification and shown in the drawings, itbeing understood that changes'may be made in the embodiments disclosedwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as definedin the following claims:

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for use in distributing playing cards one at a time fromthe top of a deck of playing cards, comprising case means for containinga deck of playing cards with the playing cards stacked in alignment,said case means being open at its top and at one end, playing cardretainer means pivotally connected to said case means at the other endof said case means and being movable between a position at rest uponsuch playing cards of said deck as are in said case means and a positionpivotally raised therefrom, said retainer means extending from itspivotal connection with said case means over said cards and beingdownturned to extend along the outer ends of said cards to hold saidcards stacked within said case means, said retainer means having slotmeans along the upper edge of said downturned portion adapted to passthe uppermost card in said case therethrough and having opening means atsaid slot means for access in moving the uppermost card through saidslot means, said apparatus including plural playing cards each bearingcode marks on their backs receivable snugly in said case means, codecard means adapted to cover an end portion of a playing card and havingperforations therethrough for viewing a code mark of each playing cardto direct its distribution to a playing hand, said case means havingmeans for fixing said code card means in a position over the inner endportion of the uppermost playing card in said case means, said retainermeans having additional opening means therethrough at the portionthereof over said code card means, said pivotal con nection of saidretainer means including slot means in opposite sidewalls of said casemeans and lug means at opposite sides of said retainer means eachslidably disposed in one of said slot means whereby said lug means movedownwardly as cards are removed through said first-named slot means andsaid retainer means remains flushly against the uppermost card remainingin said case means, said code card fixing means including additionalslot means in said opposite sidewalls and lug means at opposite sides ofsaid code card means each slidably disposed in one of said additionalslot means whereby said code card means is at once fixedly in said casemeans but movable downwardly as cards are removed through saidfirst-named slot means.

2. The combination of claim I, said case means having wall meansdepending downwardly from the outer end of its bottom over which saiddownturned portion of said retainer means is moved progressively asadditional cards are removed.

1. Apparatus for use in distributing playing cards one at a time fromthe top of a deck of playing cards, comprising case means for containinga deck of playing cards with the playing cards stacked in alignment,said case means being open at its top and at one end, playing cardretainer means pivotally connected to said case means at the other endof said case means and being movable between a position at rest uponsuch playing cards of said deck as are in said case means and a positionpivotally raised therefrom, said retainer means extending from itspivotal connection with said case means over said cards and beingdownturned to extend along the outer ends of said cards to hold saidcards stacked within said case means, said retainer means having slotmeans along the upper edge of said downturned portion adapted to passthe uppermost card in said case therethrough and having opening means atsaid slot means for access in moving the uppermost card through saidslot means, said apparatus including plural playing cards each bearingcode marks on their backs receivable snugly in said case means, codecard means adapted to cover an end portion of a playing card and havingperforations therethrough for viewing a code mark of each playing cardto direct its distribution to a playing hand, said case means havingmeans for fixing said code card means in a position over the inner endportion of the uppermost playing card in said case means, said retainermeans having additional opening means therethrough at the portionthereof over said code card means, said pivotal connection of saidretainer means including slot means in opposite sidewalls of said casemeans and lug means at opposite sides of said retainer means eachslidably disposed in one of said slot means whereby said lug meanS movedownwardly as cards are removed through said first-named slot means andsaid retainer means remains flushly against the uppermost card remainingin said case means, said code card fixing means including additionalslot means in said opposite sidewalls and lug means at opposite sides ofsaid code card means each slidably disposed in one of said additionalslot means whereby said code card means is at once fixedly in said casemeans but movable downwardly as cards are removed through saidfirst-named slot means.
 2. The combination of claim 1, said case meanshaving wall means depending downwardly from the outer end of its bottomover which said downturned portion of said retainer means is movedprogressively as additional cards are removed.